General News
3 February, 2022
Baker inspires Cats triumph
A CLINTON Baker-inspired Mortlake held off reigning premiers Pomborneit in a thriller in the all-rounder’s comeback game for the club on Saturday.
A CLINTON Baker-inspired Mortlake held off reigning premiers Pomborneit in a thriller in the all-rounder’s comeback game for the club on Saturday.
The fast bowler missed the first few games of the new year, including the Cats’ unsuccessful first match of the Twenty20 Sungold Cup, but returned this week to take 3/12 from 10 overs.
Mortlake won the toss and batted, but struggled to maintain a good run rate, leaving themselves a total of 125 to defend.
Mortlake’s Will Kain and Isaac Wareham put together a partnership of 32 to put the side in a strong position at drinks, but when Kain fell to left arm spinner Amila Mendis at 3/90 the Cats lost their scoring momentum, limping to 125 before being dismissed in the 48th over.
However, the Cats’ bowling attack was up to the challenge, bowling out the Bulls with just a run to spare.
The experience of Baker, and some excellent bowling in the later stages by left arm off-spinner Neil Kelly (4/6) got the powerhouse over the line, with the Bulls dismissed for 124 in the 46th over.
Cats skipper Todd Robertson said he felt his side’s total was low but defendable if his bowlers delivered.
“Our score (125 runs) was definitely below par, but we thought if we could bowl in the right areas we could defend a low total,” he said.
“The whole ground was slow, it was real spongy cooch, and it was really hard to score if you bowled in the right areas.
“Will Kain and Isaac (Wareham) put us in a really good position to attack, but Mendis bowled really well, he managed to whip through our middle order, and we had to rally and regroup to get to a total of 125.”
Robertson praised his bowlers, in particular Baker and Kelly.
“He’s irreplaceable, Clinton, his leadership, and knowing (he’s there) if you’re in a tight position,” he said.
“He opened for us and got us off to a really good start, and once Pombo got on top of us with their batting we threw him the ball to finish off his overs.
“He managed to skittle another one and got us into a position where we could pressure them towards the end.”
Kelly performed that task admirably, repaying his captain’s faith in a tight spot.
“Neil came in and did the job for us right at the end,” Robertson said.
“We were umming and ahing whether to bowl spin or pace at the end of the innings.
“Much like Mendis did for Pomborneit, Neil managed to slip through the lower order and knock four over, which was pleasing.”
The Cats remain unbeaten from eight games, but Robertson is not taking anything for granted heading into finals.
“We’ve been in positions like this before and it hasn’t all gone our way,” he said.
“We’d like to think we’ve learnt a lot from the last couple of seasons, and we’ve given ourselves the best chance now to push towards the finals.
“But there’s no easy games, most teams on their day can play really good cricket, so we’ll just take each game as it comes, with an eye on the prize once we get a bit closer to finals.”